Monday, December 21, 2009

SUBSTANTIATED TRUE FACTS



The odds are 1 in 582 (.0017%) that you will be injured in a traffic accident due to "driver distraction". - The Week Magazine, 10/16/09

Niger (Africa) has the world's highest fertility rate - 7.1 children per mother. - Newsweek, 10/19/09

By 2040, 40% of Japan's population will be senior citizens. - Newsweek, 10/19/09

Print shop operator Al Fischer recently donated his 320th pint of blood. That brings his lifetime total to 40 gallons. - The Week Magazine, 9/18/09

On average (in July 2009), there are six job seekers for each job opening in the United States. - Fortune, 10/26/09

If you're an American, the odds are 1 in 40 (2.46%) that you're currently in the U.S. criminal justice system (incarcerated, on parole, or on probation). - The Week Magazine, 9/25/09

Unmarried women now account for 40% of births. - Newsweek, 10/19/09

Women give birth to triplets (or higher multiples) five times more frequently than in 1972. - Time Magazine, 10/26/09

47% of all U.S. households will owe no federal income tax in 2009. - The Week Magazine, 10/16/09

South Carolina state attorney Roland Corning was busted with a stripper, sex toys and Viagra in a Columbia, South Carolina cemetery recently. - Newsweek, 11/9/09

Prostitutes in Chicago, Illinois are more likely to have sex with a police officer than be arrested by one. - Newsweek, 11/9/09

The odds are 1 in 39 (2.56%) that you will hit a deer with your car this year, if you drive in West Virginia. - The Week Magazine, 10/9/09

An IMAX projector's bulb is so powerful that if it was pointed upward, it could be seen by astronauts on the International Space Station. - Discover Magazine, 6/09

Drug investigators raided a Polk County, Florida home in a search for drugs. They were caught on a security camera playing Wii bowling for nine straight hours. - The Week Magazine, 10/9/09

The frozen head of baseball great Ted Williams was in a cryonic company's freezer on a used cat food (tuna) can. When an employee was transferring the head from one location to another, he tried to remove the tuna can, but it wouldn't budge. So he grabbed a monkey wrench, heaved a mighty swing but missed the can - hitting the head "dead center". Tiny pieces of frozen head sprayed across the room. - San Diego Union, 10/3/09

A recent study shows that weight gain may depend on when you eat as well as what you eat. If you eat when your body thinks it should be sleeping, you might be doing "double damage". - The Week Magazine, 9/25/09

A South African company tested its Internet Service Provider. It took 2 hours, 7 minutes to download data over a fifty mile distance. The same data took a carrier pigeon, carrying a flash drive, fifty minutes less. - Time Magazine, 9/28/09

The odds are 1 in 33 (3%) that you have been a target of sexual advances by a priest, minister, rabbi or other religious leader (if you're a woman). - The Week Magazine, 9/25/09

22,000 Americans die annually because they lack health insurance. - Newsweek, 9/21/09

Chinese officials have smeared butter along a 1,000-foot-long steel bridge to prevent people from jumping off it. - The Week Magazine, 9/11/09

The United States is the only developed nation where medical bankruptcies occur. - Newsweek, 9/21/09

The Ellen DeGeneres Show is being sued by four of the world's biggest record companies, accused of using more than 1,000 songs without permission. - The Week Magazine, 9/25/09

34,000,000 pounds of Parmesan cheese are being held in Italian bank vaults as collateral from cheese makers struggling through the recession. The cheese is valued at $187,000,000. - Newsweek, 9/14/09

Australian 16-year-old Jessica Watson launched her yacht to become the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world. 24 hours later, she crashed into a freighter. - The Week Magazine, 9/25/09

The United States has 2,300,000,000 square feet of space in self-storage units. This is 7 square feet per citizen. - The Week Magazine, 9/18/09

Having an obese spouse raises the risk of becoming obese by 37%. If a friend became obese, the risk skyrockets to 171%. - Wired Magazine, 10/09

The odds are 1 in 71 (1.4%) that your bag arrived at your destination at a different time than you did when flying commercial airlines. - The Week Magazine, 8/28/09

There are twice as many ATMs in Antarctica than there are permanent residents. - Wired Magazine, 9/09

1 comment:

ZyanyaBella said...

7.1 children..that's a lot. Though most probably don't make it to adulthood.